Ulster Volunteer Force

The Ulster Volunteer Force appears in 698. The Troubles: The Brink of Civil War (Part 2) as the loyalist paramilitary organization tied to early escalation in The Troubles. The episode connects the UVF to the first killings in 1966 and to later 1969 infrastructure bombings that were publicly blamed on the IRA.

The source says Gusty Spence later described those bombings as a plan to expose Terence O’Neill’s weakness and bring him down. The UVF therefore anchors Paramilitary Spoiler Violence: violence used not only against the other community, but also to destroy a moderate political settlement.

Connections

• Ian Paisley, Terence O’Neill, and Stormont - political effect of loyalist sabotage.
• Paramilitary Spoiler Violence, Sectarian Security Dilemma, and The Troubles - conflict mechanism.